The Road to Success
by Mockingjay500
Summary: Takes place after Issie has won Kentucky on Valmont Liberty, right at the end of the 11th book, Liberty and the Dream Ride. My first fanfic, hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! First time I've written a fanfic so please R+R! This is set straight after book 11, Liberty and the Dream Ride.

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><p>As 17-year old Issie Brown stepped off the plane with her best friend and groom, Stella Tarrent, and her trainer, Tom Avery, she was not expecting the sudden flashes and shouts from the crowd.<br>"Isadora! Over here!"  
>To her left, a woman was running up to her. One arm was outstretched, holding a microphone, and a camera man followed close behind.<br>"Tell me, Isadora, how does it feel to be the youngest ever competitor at the Kentucky Horse Trials, and to do no less than win?"  
>"Um…" Issie started, before Avery stepped in.<br>"I'm sorry, but Isadora is in a rush. We must get going." And with that, he ushered the girls away to the baggage claim, undeterred by the blinding flashes from the cameras.

When they finally reached Avery's car with their bags, Issie breathed a sigh of relief.  
>"Thanks, Tom. I wasn't expecting all that!"<br>Avery smiled, "No, I wasn't quite aware of how much media interest there would be either," he admitted.  
>Alongside them, Stella giggled. "It's kind of exciting though, isn't it? Feels just like we're celebrities or something!" She grinned, "I hope they caught my good side!"<br>Issie frowned. Typical Stella, only thinking of the glamour of it all. Of course, the media interest wasn't a bad thing; it encouraged companies to become sponsors. But when she had left for Kentucky just a week or so before, Issie had been an unknown face and had travelled without any fuss being made. Since winning one of the biggest events on the equestrian calendar, however, Issie had become an overnight celebrity. Tiggy Brocklebent, for _Horsing Around_ magazine, had been the first on her tail, even before the competition had begun. Now it seemed that all the equestrian magazines, and a variety of others, wanted to talk to this "teen superstar rider", as one recent news headline had put it.

As Avery turned down the lane leading to Laurel Farm, Issie couldn't wait to see the horses. Comet was in quarantine for a few days due to having flown back over from America, but Issie had three other rides here; Storm, who was her own mare's foal and possibly the most promising eventer, Raven's Wings and Twisted Dancer, two recent imports from Dulmoth Park. Although Avery was no longer responsible for the day-to-day managing of the farm, having passed that role to his head girl Verity when he left for England, he had arranged with the owner, Cassandra Steele, that horses would be bred and bought by Dulmoth Park then trained up and sent over to England for Issie to compete. The arrangement worked well, as it meant Issie did not have to pay large amounts of money for new horses.

Before Issie had left for Kentucky, the future of Storm had been quite uncertain. Laurel Farm had been struggling with funds and had needed to sell one of the horses. This had been Amaretto, and the money from his sale had been enough for Issie to travel to Kentucky. However, to secure the future of her other horses, most of all Storm who was worth the most, she had needed to win, which she had although not on Comet as she planned. Whilst over there, various goings on had given Issie a chance ride on Valmont Liberty who Issie had proceeded to ride to victory. Although the majority of winnings went to the mare's owner, the success and media interest had encouraged many companies to step forwards with sponsorship offers and Issie now had the financial backing needed by riders of the sport. Consequently, Storm did not have to be sold and was now in training for the Badminton Horse Trials in a couple of week's time. Francoise, who had remained at the farm to look after the horses, had kept him at the peak of fitness and continued with his dressage training.

Before she could see Storm and the others, however, Issie was greeted by Francoise who enveloped her in a big hug as soon as she stepped out of the car.  
>"Congratulations, Isadora! I knew you could do it!"<br>As the girls and Avery took their luggage out of the car, they briefly retold the story of how Issie had come to ride Liberty in Kentucky. Of course, Francoise had many questions to ask them and by the time they reached the door of the house, the Frenchwoman was fully caught up on what had happened. Issie pushed the door open, and was immediately caught up in a big hug for the second time that day. The person released her, and took a step backwards allowing Issie to see who it was.  
>"Oh my god! Kate!" she squealed before hugging her friend properly.<br>"Kate! What are you doing here?" gasped Stella as she entered the house behind Issie.  
>Kate was their other best friend, but had stayed in Chevalier Point to take over from Avery as head instructor of the pony club.<br>"I called Francoise a few days ago, and she suggested that I fly over to surprise you when you get back! I arrived last night. Morgan is covering for me at the pony club so I can spend a week over here with you both!" explained Kate.  
>The girls were thrilled, and Avery rolled his eyes at the news but he didn't really mind. On one condition. "Issie, you must not neglect your training. Badminton is in less than two weeks. You and Storm need to be ready."<br>"Of course, Tom!" Issie was serious about what she was doing, and Kate volunteered to help her and Stella whenever possible.

"So, tell me about Valmont Liberty." Kate said as soon as the girls got upstairs.  
>"She's a lovely horse, really sensitive but absolutely amazing." Issie smiled, thinking of the silver dapple mare she rode and won with at Kentucky.<br>"Marcus isn't bad either!" giggled Stella.  
>Issie shook her head, and Kate raised her eyebrows. "Who's Marcus?" she Stella could say anything, Issie started talking. "He was supposed to be riding Liberty but he broke his arm and asked me to ride in his place." She went on to explain how Marcus had broken his arm, and how she had realised that the mare's owner was plotting to kill her so he could claim insurance. Of course, she missed out the part where Mystic had showed up and cornered the man. No one knew about the pony, although it had been a close call that day; Stella had woken up and seen him, recognising him immediately. However, she had still been drowsy from the sleeping pills that Mr Valmont had slipped into her tea so she showed no recollection of having seen the grey pony, which had died a few years previously.<br>"Wow, sounds like I miss out on a lot of adventures!" grinned Kate when Issie had finished telling her what happened.  
>Issie laughed, then looked at the clock on her bedroom wall. "Well here's one you won't miss," she said, "lets go for a ride!"<p>

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><p>Hope you liked it and it didn't suck too much!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

The girls got up early the next morning, and immediately headed down to the stables to feed the horses and turn them out into the field before heading inside for their own breakfast with Avery and Francoise.

"Good morning girls, did you sleep well?" Francoise smiled as the three entered the kitchen.  
>"Yes, it was great thanks!" responded Kate, while Issie and Stella nodded in agreement. It was great to be back together, even if it was just for a week. As they ate, they discussed plans for the day.<br>"I thought I'd ride Storm, Dancer and Raven this morning, then would it be ok if we possibly went into town for the afternoon?" Issie asked.  
>Francoise looked at Avery, who thought for a moment before nodding. Smiling, Francoise turned back to the girls. "That would be fine, I can drop you off just after lunch if you would like?"<br>"That would be great, thank you!"

After breakfast, the girls headed back out to the stables and collected three halters from the tack room then went out to the fields, calling for Storm, Dancer and Raven.  
>"I can't believe how lovely they are! Especially Storm, it seems like yesterday he was just a colt!" enthused Kate, before entering the mares' field and slipping a halter over Dancer's head. At the same time, in the stallions' field. Stella was catching Raven and Issie was getting Storm. Once all three were caught, the girls took them back up to the stables and started to groom them.<br>"I think I'll ride Storm first, he'll get impatient if he's tied up too long!" Issie smiled, gazing fondly at her horse, before glancing apologetically at her friends.  
>"I would offer you to ride them, but they haven't jumped in quite a while and if they're going to go crazy I wouldn't want you to get hurt. You can ride them another time though, for sure!"<br>Her friends smiled. Although it could seem a little off that they weren't allowed to ride them, they understood fully. These weren't just your average pony club mounts, they were proper event horses and required expert handling, so they were more than happy to watch for the time being, and help out by putting jumps up and down.

Moments later, Issie mounted Storm and took him down to the arena. Kate held the gate open, and closed it after her before joining Stella who was setting up a cross fence, the middle of which was about 90cm. It was small in comparison to what he did normally, but it was a nice height for a warm up fence. The girls proceeded to set up an oxer, with a front rail of 1m20 and a back rail of 1m25, on the other side of the arena, and a double, with both elements set at 1m30 and two strides in between, on the F-H diagonal. When the final jump was set up, Issie, who had been warming Storm up and taking him through the various gaits, turned the big bay stallion towards the cross fence. As soon as he realised what was being asked of him, he sped up and it took all Issie's strength to hold him so that he didn't rush over it. When he had settled and was popping over it nicely, she nodded to her friends who promptly put the jump up to a 1m20 vertical. The young horse took on the challenge, and popped over the jump with inches to spare, giving a playful buck on landing as if to say that it wasn't big enough. Laughing, Issie collected him up before turning to the oxer. Again, Storm jumped it with room to spare, tucking his legs up neatly so he wouldn't knock the rails. The double was next, and Issie held the bay steady so he wouldn't rush and misjudge the striding in between. If Stella and Kate had been impressed with Storm's performance over the vertical and the oxer, now they were amazed. The stallion gave each element inches to spare, giving two neat strides between them and a buck on landing. Issie drew him up, giving him a slappy pat on his glossy neck, before calling out to her friends to raise the jumps by two holes. She would just take him round once more, before cooling him off and rubbing him down. As Stella and Kate moved out of the way, having finished raising the jumps, Issie nudged her horse forwards and settled him into a balanced rhythm before turning for the vertical, now set at 1m30. To Storm, however, the jump was easy and he popped over effortlessly. The oxer, now with a front rail of 1.30m and a back rail of 1.35m, was a similar story. The scopey horse jumped it with ease, before settling so his rider could turn him to the double, now set at 1.40m. Once more, he cleared both elements easily and was eager to go again but Issie circled him, bringing him back to a trot and, finally, a walk. She gave him a loose rein and walked a circuit of the arena in each direction before halting and dismounting.  
>"Issie he's amazing!" Kate said as she came over, giving the horse a big pat.<br>Issie smiled. "He's a bit special isn't he?" she grinned, looking at her horse. She couldn't believe he was the same horse she had helped Blaze give birth to that stormy night.

Back on the stable yard, Issie untacked Storm and rubbed him down, putting a light sheet on him before turning him back out into the field. Meanwhile, Stella and Kate were tacking up Dancer. When Issie came back from the field, they legged her up onto the dapple grey mare's back. The mare was smaller than Storm, only 15.3hh as opposed to his 16.3hh. Entering the arena, Issie warmed the mare up as her friends put the jumps down. The vertical was converted back into a cross fence with the middle set at 90cm, whilst the oxer was put down so that the front rail was 1m05 and the back rail was 1m10 and the double was lowered so that each element was now 1m20 in height. Although a capable jumper, and slightly older than the stallion, Dancer was not at the same competition level as Storm and, as such, did not need to be trained over fences as high as the stallion. The mare had come from Dulmoth Park six months ago, and Issie had already progressed her from intro classes to intermediate level. She was a talented mare with a scopey jump and floating paces which often meant that she was in the top ten after the dressage phase.

Once satisfied that the mare was sufficiently warmed up, Issie turned her to the first fence. Like Storm, the mare immediately sped up, eager to jump after having only done flatwork for over a week. Issie settled her in time, and was rewarded with a lovely jump over the fence. She took the mare over it twice more, before nodding to her friends who quickly raised it to a 1m vertical. The grey horse took the fence on bravely, arching over it neatly. The oxer was next and she dropped a hind leg, rubbing the back rail slightly but not enough for it to fall. She popped in and out of the double with ease, and Issie's friends swiftly raised the jumps another 10cm. As they reached the oxer this time, it was as if the mare remembered her mistake before and gave it extra height, kicking out her hind legs to avoid making contact with the rail for a second time. After the double, Issie settled the horse and walked her off. It may seem like the work outs for these horses were short, but they were demanding and Avery always advised that she should do short workouts but achieve lots as opposed to long ones where not as much was achieved.

Having finished with Dancer for the day, Issie took her back to the yard, rubbed her down and turned her back out into the mares' field whilst her friends got Raven ready. The black stallion was another recent import from Dulmoth Park, 5 years old and stood at 16hh, although Tom reckoned he would make 16.2hh by the time he reached the age of 7. As she warmed him up, Issie's friends lowered the jumps so that the cross fence had a middle height of 80cm, the oxer had a front rail of 90cm and a back rail of 95cm and the elements of the double were both set at 1metre. Satisfied that the horse was working nicely, Issie turned to the first fence. Raven didn't need to be asked twice, and would have raced towards the first fence had Issie not been holding him steady. He popped over the fence easily, and let out a few excited bucks as he cantered away. Issie sat deep in the saddle and rode him forwards, settling him before taking him over the cross fence twice more. She then nodded to Stella and Kate, who proceeded to turn it into an 80cm vertical, and then took the young horse around the course. He took each jump easily, clearing each jump with room to spare as if to say that they were too easy. Issie laughed and gave him a slappy pat as Kate and Stella raised the jumps so that the vertical was set at 90cm, the front rail of the oxer at 95cm, the back rail of the oxer at 1metre and the elements of the double at 1m05. The young horse had only competed around a few local level events so far, and would be moving up to bigger classes the following season so, for now, he did not need to be stretched with his jumping in the same way Storm did.

Once she had finished working Raven, Issie and her friends rubbed him down and turned him back out into the stallions' field with Storm before heading up to the house for lunch. As promised, Francoise drove them into the town shortly after.  
>"Give me a ring when you're ready to come back, but don't be too late!" she waved as she drove off.<br>As the girls reached the town centre, they weren't prepared for the voice that suddenly screamed.  
>"Oh my gosh! It's Isadora Brown!"<br>Suddenly, there was a mob of people rushing towards them, digging in their bags for pen and paper which they held out, asking for her autograph. At the same time, many people were pulling out cameras and camera phones to take pictures. Issie looked at her friends, unsure of what to do. Should she sign and waste her afternoon, or should she walk away and risk getting slated for being rude in some magazine article? Stella and Kate nodded at their friend, and reluctantly Issie forced a smile to her face and started signing, having her pictures taken with various groups. She had just finished the last signing when a woman ran up to her.  
>"Isadora Brown? I'm Gemma Warrington from <em>Horse and Hound<em> magazine. I was wondering, would it be possible for us to have an interview with you?"  
>"Um… I think so. If you leave me your number I'll have someone get back to you later on."<br>"Great! Thank you!" Gemma smiled and reached into her bag for a business card with her number on, which Issie glanced at before putting the card safely in her own bag. She would show it to Avery later, and ask him what he thought.

A few minutes later, Issie and her friends were in one of their favourite stores, when the TV at the back of the store started advertising tickets for the Badminton Horse Trials. _"If you haven't got yours already, it's not too late!"_ said the voiceover, before reading out a website and phone number where people could purchase tickets. _"This is one event you won't want to miss, along with the usual big names, 17-year-old Isadora Brown, winner of the Kentucky Horse Trials, will be competing, hoping to add a win at Badminton Horse Trials to her list of achievements!"  
><em>Issie looked quickly at her friends at the mention of her name as video clips of her Kentucky cross country round and pictures of her at the end with Liberty were shown. The whole store suddenly filled with excited voices.  
>"I just got her autograph!"<br>"Yeah right!"  
>"She did! Isadora is here in the town!"<br>Several other voices joined in, confirming the rumours that the rider was, indeed, in town. Just then, Kate had an idea. Pulling off her hoody, she passed it to Issie who gratefully pulled it on and put the hood up.  
>"Thanks Kate!" she grinned. Hopefully they would be able to spend the rest of the afternoon like three normal friends.<p>

Kate's plan worked, and by the time the girls got picked up by Francoise they were almost laughing about the crazy crowds. Back at the farm, Issie gave Gemma Warrington's card to Avery and explained how the reporter had asked for an interview.  
>"I think that's an excellent idea. <em>Horse and Hound<em> is one of the biggest selling magazines. It will be great publicity for your sponsors, and may even encourage a few more to offer support." When Issie nodded, he picked up the phone and punched in the number.  
>"Hello, Gemma Warrington? This is Tom Avery, trainer of Isadora Brown."<br>A few minutes later, it was arranged that the reporter would come over the following morning with a photographer.  
>"Make sure you get up extra early, girls. They're going to want pictures of the horses so they need to look their best!"<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

As instructed, the girls rose early the next morning and pulled on some sweats before hurrying out to the stables. The horses were fed, but would not be turned out until after the interview so the girls made sure they had plenty of hay and water to keep them busy in the mean time. Then they went back into the house for their own breakfast. As they ate, Avery told them to wear smart stable wear for the interview and, where possible, Issie should wear clothing that publicised her sponsors.

An hour later, there was a knock at the door and Avery answered it.  
>"Hi, you must be Tom Avery? I'm Gemma Warrington and this is my photographer, James Carlson."<br>Avery, Francoise and the girls greeted Gemma and James before showing them into the living room.  
>"This is a nice set up you have here!" Gemma complimented as she sat down.<br>Avery thanked her, and then the interview started.

"Isadora, when did you start riding and what got you into it?"  
>"Well one of my friends had recently got her own horse and I used to help them out a lot with looking after them and occasionally had a little ride but nothing much. I just kept pestering my mom and saving my money and eventually convinced her to let me have my own. I was about 10 years old when I got my first pony, Mystic."<br>"What was Mystic like?"  
>"He was lovely, a dappled grey pony of 14hh, he wasn't the youngest pony but he was mine and to me he was perfect."<br>"Do you still have him?"  
>"No, unfortunately he died in an accident a few years ago."<br>"I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been hard for you to lose him."  
>"Yeah it was, I thought I'd never ride again but then Tom, who was my pony club instructor at the time, found a mare through his work for the ILPH and convinced me to look after her."<br>"If she was from the ILPH she must have been in bad condition, yes?"  
>"Yeah definitely, she was really neglected and to be honest it was touch and go as to how well she would recover. Somehow she made it and then I started riding her. I didn't have a saddle so I rode bareback in a bridle and although I came off a few times at the beginning I think it improved my balance a lot and eventually I was happy to take her out for a gallop with my friends and their horses."<br>"What was she called? Do you still have her?"  
>"She didn't have a name that we knew of, and she had a lovely white blaze down her face so I called her Blaze. Yes I still have her, although it was a close call when the El Caballo Danzo Magnifico troupe was over in my home town and we found out that Blaze had been stolen from them and was their star horse. They took her back and the night before they left they came back and said that an anonymous benefactor had bought her for me so I got to keep her."<br>"What a happy ending! What about your Kentucky winner, Blackthorn Comet?"  
>"He was a wild pony that was running in the Gisborne hills by Blackthorn Farm which is owned by my aunt. When I was over there a few years ago there were too many and the Blackthorn Hills Conservation Trust were arranging a cull to get rid of them. Somehow my aunt's head lad and I managed to catch the herd's stallion and then, with the help of Tom and my friends, we managed to catch the rest of the herd. When I returned the following year, the ones that hadn't been sold were in the process of being retrained and Comet was one of them. My aunt got me to ride him and at the end of the summer I rode him at the Horse of the Year show and we won the pony puissance at 1 metre 70 which then caught the eye of a dealer who offered us $25,000 for him. My aunt refused the offer and instead gave him to me."<br>"That's quite a story! How about your other horses?"  
>"Well Nightstorm is the son of Blaze. When she was back with El Caballo Danzo Magnifico for a short time, their top stallion Marius escaped and was found with her. We later found out that she was in foal and Nightstorm was the product! He spent a couple of years in Spain with the school receiving the best dressage instruction before I brought him back to my home in Chevalier Point. His four-star debut will be next week at the Badminton Horse Trials. My other two rides I have at the moment are both imports from Dulmoth Park which is owned my Cassandra Steele and managed by Tom. While we are in England, it is run by head girl Verity who trains up the young horse and then sends over to us for me to compete. I have Raven's Wings and Twisted Dancer at the moment, both who are doing well."<br>"That sounds like a good arrangement. So, before I come and meet your horses, how does it feel to be the youngest ever competitor, and winner, of the Kentucky Horse Trials? And are you aiming for the Rolex Grand Slam?"  
>"It's a bit surreal really, I felt really overfaced when we arrived there and saw all these riders who I have watched on television for years and I was competing against them. Then there was the suddenness of me obtaining the ride of Valmont Liberty and getting used to her, bailing out of my cross country course on Comet to save Liberty's life and then somehow riding Liberty to victory. As for Badminton, I'm just going to try my best and hope it pays off. I won't let myself think about the Grand Slam, I just want to focus on what I'm doing."<br>"Yes we have all seen your Kentucky Story and what happened, a far cry from the quiet life of your pony club I'll bet?"  
>"Haha I'm not quite sure about that really…"<br>"Well thank you for this interview, Isadora. I wish you all the best for Badminton and your future, and hope that we could catch up with you soon!"

Once the interview finished, Issie stood up and led the way out to the stables. Comet had been collected by Avery the previous evening and was happily back in his stable, pulling at a hay net.  
>"They're all lovely, Isadora!" said Gemma as the horses stuck their heads over their doors. "Could we get a picture of you with each of them individually and then maybe a shot of you with your main event horses?"<br>Issie nodded and went into Raven's stall to put a halter on him. She led him out of his stall and halted him next to her, just in front of James Carlson, the photographer. He had selected a spot where the background of the image would be of the fields. Once he had taken a few pictures of her with Raven, Stella came and took the horse from Issie and put him back in his stall whilst Kate led out Dancer and gave her to Issie. Once she had been photographed, Kate led her back into her stall and Stella brought Comet out. The skewbald gelding was less keen on standing still than the other two had been, and it took a while longer for James to take the pictures of him than it had for him to take the pictures of Raven or Dancer. When he was satisfied with his work, however, he nodded and Stella took the lively pony's leadrope from Issie and stood just a short distance away whilst Kate came over with Storm. The bay stallion wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but knew it must be important and so stood with his neck arched proudly. After a few pictures had been taken, the photographer nodded and Stella handed Comet back to Issie so that she was stood with one horse in each hand. This time, Comet was not as impatient because he was standing next to Storm who was possibly the only horse Comet actually had respect for. Soon, James nodded and smiled.  
>"I think we have all the pictures of you with these ones, how about those three?" he nodded over towards the end two stalls where Angel, Marmite and Blaze were standing quietly.<br>"They're not my event horses. The grey is Francoise's dressage stallion, the coloured is Stella's horse and the chestnut is my mare, Blaze."  
>"Well I think we would love some pictures of you with Blaze!" enthused Gemma, and so whilst her friends put Storm and Comet away, Issie slipped a halter on Blaze and led her out. James took some pictures, and then suggested they get Storm out so that Issie could be pictured with the event horse and his dam. Issie grinned and agreed, and soon was standing proudly with Blaze in one hand and Storm in the other.<p>

"Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview today, Isadora. It's been lovely meeting you and your horses." Gemma shook hands with Issie and Avery before walking back to the van with James. As they disappeared down the drive, Avery turned to the girls.  
>"Now that that's over, do you girls fancy taking the horses out for a ride?" he suggested, to which the girls eagerly agreed.<br>Soon, Blaze, Marmite and Dancer were tacked up and the girls were mounting up. The other horses had been turned out into the fields. Issie would school them after lunch.

"Fancy a gallop?" Issie called over her shoulder as they reached a long grass strip where she and Stella often raced their horses. Kate nodded, eager to try out the faster paces of Dancer. She had never ridden an event horse before and knew it would be a lot different to her previous experiences.  
>"Try not to let Dancer go too fast, just hold her steady ok? She could beat these two easily so don't let her run all out!" Issie smiled, and Kate nodded. Despite her excitement about riding this horse, she was also quite nervous as she knew that the mare was valuable.<br>On Issie's nod, the girls set off. Within a few strides, Kate on Dancer had gone from the back of the group to the front. Stella, on her pony Marmite, was at the back just a stride or two behind Issie on Blaze.  
>"Kate! Pull up by the big oak ok?" Issie yelled ahead to her friend, who nodded. It was hard to pull Dancer up but she managed to do it and halted the grey mare as she waited for Issie and Stella to catch up.<br>"That was amazing Issie! Thanks for trusting me to ride her!"

The girls had a few more canters and popped over a few logs in the woods before heading back to the farm. As they clattered down the drive, Avery came out of the house and waved before walking over to meet them.  
>"I hope you had a good ride, girls," he said, before turning to Issie. "Tara called while you were out; she asked if you could give her a ring back." He told her, a suppressed grin finding its way onto his face. Issie nodded, and as her trainer left she turned to her friends and shrugged. They continued onto the yard where they dismounted before untacking the horses and turing them back out into the fields. They then headed back up to the house for lunch.<p>

As their lunch cooked, Issie rang Tara back.  
>"Hello?"<br>"Hi Tara, it's Issie. Tom said you rang?"  
>"Oh hi Issie. Yes, yes I did. I have a proposition for you."<br>"A proposition?" Issie was intrigued, and when she finally hung up the phone a few moments later her friends couldn't wait to ask her what Tara's proposition was.  
>"She wants to find young horses for eventing and send them to me to give some experience before taking them to be school event mounts at Blainford!" Blainford Academy was the most prestigious equestrian school in the world and Tara was their head of eventing. The offer was an exciting one; it would give Issie a great chance to gain more experience and could lead to other opportunities. Tara had already said that she may also purchase some more advanced eventers which Issie would also ride for a short while to test them out and give feedback to Tara on the best way to handle each one and what sort of rider would be best for them. Tara had already discussed it with Avery and had arranged to fly over to England that weekend to confirm the arrangements and to assist Avery and Issie in the run up to, and during, the Badminton Horse Trials.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Issie was still buzzing from Tara's proposition. She had schooled Storm and Raven after lunch that day and had gone to bed almost believing she was already dreaming. However, when she had woken up that day her friends confirmed what she thought. Tara had offered her the chance to produce young horses for the best equestrian school in the world with the possibility of also assessing more advanced rides too!

The good news didn't end there, shortly after breakfast, just as Issie and her friends were about to go out and tack up Storm, Marmite and Faerie for a ride the phone rang. Issie answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Issie, its Aidan."

"Hey!" Issie smiled as she heard her friend's voice on the other end of the line. They had a brief catch up before Aidan got to the point.

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in coming out to help with the Blackthorn Riding School over the summer again would you? Same weeks as last time?" he asked. A few years ago, Issie and her friends had helped her aunt out of some financial difficulties by assisting Hester and Aidan, her farm manager, run a riding school for the summer. The children had stayed Monday-Friday for three weeks. It had been a success and the children had all enjoyed it, one of them even owned Stella's old pony Coco now.

"That would be great, Aidan! Of course I'm interested!" I'll have to check with Tom first, though, to make sure I can fit it in."

"No problem, I'm sure Hester would love to see you again. And she's not the only one."

"Aidan…" Issie and Aidan had dated for a while, just after they had been running the riding school that summer. It had been a difficult decision to split up, but they had had very little time to see each other and then Issie had been selected as part of the New Zealand Young Rider Squad for the National Young Rider Challenge and had to go to Australia for two weeks. She had met Aidan again the following summer, whilst she was working for Ginty McLintoch and he had been working for Aramint Chatswood-Smith. He had helped her see sense about Ginty and they had spent some time together over the rest of that summer working at Dulmoth Park. Since moving to England, however, Issie had not seen her ex-boyfriend. She still had feelings for him, and now that he had said that she faltered, wondering whether it would really be a good idea to see him that summer.

"Issie I just meant as friends! It's been ages since we last saw each other!" he laughed. Issie laughed back, but something deep down told her that he wasn't being honest. Still, it _would_ be good to see her aunt again, and the horses at Blackthorn Farm.

"One more thing Issie? Could you ask if Kate would be the head instructor?"

Issie agreed, and told Aidan that she would call him later once she had asked Avery if she had the time.

"I think that's a good idea. It would encourage more people to sign up if they knew they would be able to meet and be taught by Isadora Brown!" Avery smiled when Issie asked him. "Of course, you wont be able to stay the whole time but I'm thinking if you go over for the last week of it? I'll get hold of Verity and we can have Flame taken over to Blackthorn Farm and you can ride him in the Horse of the Year show. It was a great end to the week for the children last time!"

Issie grinned, that sounded brilliant! Not only would she get to see her family and the horses at her aunt's farm again, she would get to see Flame too! She had ridden Flame for Ginty and, after he grew to be difficult through Ginty's harsh training methods, Issie and Avery had managed to convince Cassandra Steele to let them work with the horse instead. They managed to turn him around into a star and Issie had been regularly riding and competing him since Avery took over the management of Dulmoth Park until they had left for England.

Having confirmed with Avery, she left him to make the necessary arrangements with Verity and went to find Kate and Stella. She told them of the plans and then turned to Kate, asking her if she would be the head instructor.

"Of course I will! Dan and Ben have already offered to cover me at the Pony Club if I needed a break this summer!"

The girls continued to chat excitedly about the Blackthorn Farm Riding School as they rode out; Issie on Storm, Kate on Raven and Stella on Marmite, looking somewhat scruffy next to the two event horses. He kept up with them well, though. Like Comet, Marmite was a Blackthorn pony. Issie's aunt and Aidan had started breeding and producing the ponies since they rounded them up and Aidan had taken a few over to Chevalier Point so that Issie could help with them a few years previously. Although he didn't have quite as much spark as Comet, Marmite was a lovely example of the breed.

It wasn't long until the conversation turned to the Badminton Horse Trials. There was a week until them now, and the girls couldn't wait! Kate had rung Morgan, who was covering the pony club for her, and arranged to stay out a few days longer so she could help Issie and Stella at the event. Tara was arriving the next day too. Right now, everything that was happening was further from what Issie had ever imagined before. It had been a lot of hard work but finally she was getting somewhere.

When they got back from their ride, the girls had their lunch and then Issie schooled Dancer. She also started to school Comet for the first time since he had been back from quarantine and was unsurprised to find he was incredibly fresh! The lively skewbald was leaping all over the place, but Issie didn't mind his antics. Comet wasn't a pony who liked standing around for a long period of time. After five minutes, when the pony refused to settle, Issie called over to Stella to open the gate so Issie could take him to the gallops. The "gallops" at Lauren Farm was a mini racetrack. Avery had had it constructed so that horses with a lot of built up energy could have a gallop and relax, but also so that the event horses got used to galloping for long distances as they would have to do in the cross country phase of an event. As soon as his hooves were on the grass track, Comet lunged forwards. Issie was ready for him, though, and steadied him back to a trot. She trotted him for half a lap of the track before letting him canter for the second half. As she came back to the starting point, she stood crouched in her stirrups like a jockey and urged her pony forwards. Comet didn't need asking twice, and burst forwards. As they watched the skewbald run, Kate and Stella, who were watching from the gate, looked at each other, grinning. Stella was used to seeing her friend practice on the gallops, but Kate had never seen Issie go so fast.

"Have you ever had a proper race out here?" Kate asked Stella, her eyes back on Issie.

"Yeah, a few months back Issie, Francoise and I brought Blaze, Angel and Marmite out here. It's amazing, so much better than racing out on a hack."

"Do you think there's any chance we could bring a couple out here with Issie before I leave?" Kate asked, to which Stella nodded thoughtfully.

"We'll definitely ask Avery. He should be ok with it!"

Kate looked at Stella and grinned before looking back at Issie who was just approaching the gate again, steadying Comet back to a canter, then a trot and finally a walk. The spirited gelding seemed a lot more settled now and walked calmly back to the gate on a long rein.

"That'll do him for the day, I'll do some schooling tomorrow." Issie said as Stella opened the gate for her friend to ride out.

As the girls untacked Comet and rubbed him down, Kate and Stella told Issie about their idea to have a proper race on the gallops.

"That sounds fun, I'll ask Avery later!" Issie grinned enthusiastically, already mentally working out who would be best for Kate to ride. She decided that Dancer would probably be the ideal choice as Kate had clearly fallen in love with the mare.

When they got up to the house for lunch, Issie immediately asked Avery about having a race.

"That should be alright, it would probably be best to wait until after Badminton, though, as we are pushed for time anyway and that needs to be our focus right now." He told them. "We leave the day after tomorrow to get there so we can settle in and walk the course a few times.


	5. Chapter 5

When Issie and her friends woke up the next morning, Avery wasn't around.  
>"He got a call from Tara early this morning saying her flight was landing soon. He went to pick her up." Francoise explained when the girls asked the whereabouts of him.<br>She served up a breakfast of pancakes which the girls eagerly devoured before heading outside to feed and turn out the horses.

"Are you going to ride this morning Is?" Kate asked.  
>"Later, Tara should be here soon and I don't know whether her and Avery want to do some training with us today." Issie responded as she unclipped Storm's halter and watched him gallop into the field, kicking his heels up.<br>The girls sat on the fence talking and watching the horses for a while until they heard Avery's truck on the gravel drive. Looking at each other eagerly, they jumped off the fence and ran up to the house.

"Issie, it's great to see you again!" Tara smiled warmly as she stepped out of the truck. "And Stella and Kate." Tara turned slightly to take in the other two girls in her smile, and then looked around, surveying the farm.  
>"You have a nice set-up here." Tara said, turning to Avery who nodded.<br>The girls helped Tara and Avery take Tara's luggage from the truck and into the house.  
>"You must be Tara!" Francoise smiled as the small group entered the kitchen.<br>"And I'm guessing you are Francoise!" Tara smiled back. The two women had not met until now, however each had heard of the other through Avery.

After the quick greetings, Tara turned to Issie.  
>"Well, I'll just take my things to my room and then we can get started! I'd like to see you jump Comet first if that's ok and then you can introduce me to the others. Lastly I want to see you practice your dressage on Storm."<br>Issie nodded, barely suppressing a grin. Typical Tara, getting straight down to business!  
>Avery and Francoise helped Tara take her bags to the room she would be staying in for the night and then again once they returned from the Badminton trials whilst Issie, Stella and Kate went down to the stables to groom the horses.<p>

By the time Tara came down to the stables, followed by Avery and Francoise, Comet was already tacked up and Issie was about to mount him.  
>"Warm up as you do normally, and if you all wouldn't mind helping me set up a course please." Tara said to first Issie and then Stella, Kate, Avery and Francoise. She turned to them and dictated which jumps she wanted where and from what direction they were to be jumped. Issie, meanwhile, was warming up a hot-headed Comet. He had seen the jumps come out and knew what he was going to be doing. Still, he eventually settled and listened to what Issie was asking of him, executing perfect flying changes and walk to canter transitions on command.<br>"Excellent work Issie. Now, just pop him over the cross fence to start with." Tara instructed, indicating the fence which measured 1 meter 20 at the sides, but only 1 meter in the middle where the horse was supposed to jump.

Issie nodded and nudged the coloured pony into canter before circling him and turning him to the jump. As soon as he had it in his sights, he shot forwards.  
>"Turn him away!" Tara yelled, pleased to see that Issie had already started to do just that. "Try bringing him in at a trot, and don't give him such a long run up."<br>Issie did just that, and as the pony turned to face the jump for a second time he went from trot to canter, but did not have the time to bolt before the fence. Instead, when he got there, he jumped the middle of the fence as though it measured 1 meter 30, rather than 1 meter.  
>Tara rolled her eyes at the pony's antics, smiling. He may be small, but he had a big character! She walked over and lowered one bar of the cross fence, lifting the other pole so it was now an upright fence measuring 1 meter 20.<p>

"Right, I want you to take him over this, hopefully he won't try and race to it this time, then turn across the diagonal and take the double. Then come up that long side and go down the line from the upright then there should be five strides to the oxer. Turn him across the other diagonal and bring him over the triple bar and then pop him over the wall to finish."  
>The fences ranged in height from 1 meter 20 to 1 meter 50. Although Comet would never have to jump 1 meter 50 in the show jumping phase of eventing, she wanted to see just how the pony coped. Besides, Avery had expressed his interest of Issie doing some show jumping with the horses over the winter season when the eventing season had come to a close.<br>Issie cantered around the ring once before turning Comet to the first upright. Now that the fences were a decent height, he listened to her and did not rush.  
>"<em>One, two, three!"<em> Tara counted in her head and nodded as the pony took off perfectly. She turned as Issie took the little gelding to the double, popping in and out neatly. The line was next, which should have five even strides between the jumps.  
>"<em>One, two, three, jump! One, two, three, four, five, jump!"<em> Tara grinned and watched as Issie turned to the triple bar, measuring 1 meter 50 at the highest point. The pony jumped perfectly and it was onto the wall. No problem.  
>"Textbook stuff Issie! Brilliantly done!" Tara called as Issie brought the pony back to a trot and then a walk, giving him a big pat on his neck.<br>"I think we'll call that it for today. Give him a walk off and then we'll see what we're going to do with the others."

Tara decided to work over the same course, at a smaller height, with Dancer. The dapple grey mare was careful and scopey. Perhaps the only thing missing was the speed, but that would come as the mare became bolder. For her, the jumps went up to a height of 1 meter 20 and she cleared them easily. They had then gone through the dressage test in a simple manner with Raven. He could not do the more advanced moves required yet, but it gave Issie some extra practice at the test.

Now, Issie was warming up Storm. The young bay stallion was almost floating down the long side of the arena. When she felt he was suitably warmed up, she nodded to Tara who signalled to Avery, sitting in the truck, to sound the horn. This was the last time they would be able to practice the whole test on Storm. They could practice the various movements at the Badminton grounds, but they could not risk him learning the test himself and anticipating the next movements. Tara watched as Issie and the horse almost became one, completely in tune with each other as they performed one-time changes, shoulder-in, half-pass and other complex movements. There was silence as the team watched Issie, not just because they did not wish to disturb her concentration but because the pair were mesmerising. It was impossible to look away.

Finally, Issie brought the horse to a perfect square halt and saluted to an imaginary judge, leaning forwards to give Storm a small, professional pat on the neck before walking on a loose rein. As soon as she got back to the track at the edge of the school, the spell was broken. Francoise, Avery, Tara, Stella and Kate burst into applause as Issie grinned and gave her horse the warm, less professional pat she always had to fight the urge to do at the end of the test. She looked up at Tara and Francoise, wanting their comments. The both grinned and shook their heads. Nothing needed to be said. The performance had been flawless.

"You've come such a long way since we met in Australia." Tara smiled as she and Issie discussed the training sessions before dinner that evening. "Of course, I knew that after seeing you at Kentucky, the way you got on a brand new horse and rode her to win was incredible and certainly nothing you could have achieved a few years ago!"  
>Issie grinned, remembering when she had tried out the brown gelding, Victory, who she had ridden for the Young Rider Challenge. She admitted she was pretty much useless when she first got on him, but thanks to some quick coaching from Tara she had pulled herself together and had managed to get a half decent performance from him, meaning that Tara had been happy to assign the ride of him to Issie for the competition. Issie still remembered Tara's words. <em>"You'll learn a lot from him over the next two weeks."<em> She had been right, as Issie imagined Tara always was. She had learnt then that praise from Tara was hard to come by so any you did get was more than deserved. And now here she was, _really_ complimenting Issie's riding today and from the Kentucky trials.

After dinner, the girls went outside to put the horses away for the evening and load the horse box. They would be leaving early in the morning. They caught the horses and gave them a groom before putting them in their stalls with their evening feeds and then carried the tack out to the horse box.  
>"You won't look out of place this time!" Stella giggled. Issie grinned in response. When they had gone to the Kentucky trials they had been using an ancient horse box Avery had hired. And as if it wasn't strange enough pulling up to one of the biggest events in the world in that, they had had Comet with them. There was no doubting that the little pony shared the ability of the bigger horses, but he did not share their flashy looks. Several other competitors had shot them rather bemused looks as Issie had led the pony to his stall there. This time, though, they would be in their own horse box which was a great deal smarter than the one they had hired. As they reached it, Issie noticed that Avery had obviously used it since they had been back as it now displayed the names and logos of Issie's sponsors.<br>Another factor which would mean Issie didn't look out of place was the fact that she was taking Storm. He was a typical eventer build. Of course, Issie was still a great deal younger than the other competitors but she had more than proven herself at Kentucky!  
>Before they all went back up to the house, Issie looked in on Storm.<br>"Good night Storm, get some rest." She said softly.


End file.
